The graph of $r = \cos \theta$ is a circle.  Find the smallest value of $t$ so that when $r = \cos \theta$ is plotted for $0 \le \theta \le t,$ the resulting graph is the entire circle.
Explanation: Let $f(\theta) = \cos \theta.$  When $\theta = 0,$ $r = 1,$ so in rectangular coordinates,
\[(x,y) = (1 \cos \theta, 1 \sin \theta) = (1,0).\]Furthermore, the function $f(\theta) = \cos \theta$ is periodic, so we must find the next angle for which $(x,y) = (1,0).$  This occurs if and only if either of the following conditions is met:

(1) $\theta$ is of the form $2 \pi k,$ where $k$ is an integer, and $r = 1,$ or
(2) $\theta$ is of the form $2 \pi k + \pi,$ where $k$ is an integer, and $r = -1.$

If $\theta = 2 \pi k,$ then
\[r = \cos \theta = \cos 2 \pi k = 1,\]so any angle of the form $\theta = 2 \pi k$ works.

If $\theta = 2 \pi k + \pi,$ then
\[r = \cos \theta = \cos (2 \pi k + \pi) = -1,\]so any of the form $\theta = 2 \pi k + \pi$ also works.

Also, if $r = f(\theta) = \cos \theta,$ then
\[f(\theta + \pi) = \cos (\theta + \pi) = -\cos \theta = -r.\]In polar coordinates, the points $(r, \theta)$ and $(-r, \theta + \pi)$ coincide, so the graph repeats after an interval of $\pi.$

Therefore, the smallest possible value of $t$ is $\boxed{\pi}.$

[asy]
unitsize(3 cm);

pair moo (real t) {
  real r = cos(t);
  return (r*cos(t), r*sin(t));
}

path foo = moo(0);
real t;

for (t = 0; t <= pi + 0.1; t = t + 0.1) {
  foo = foo--moo(t);
}

draw(foo,red);

draw((-0.5,0)--(1.5,0));
draw((0,-0.5)--(0,0.5));
label("$r = \cos \theta$", (1.3,0.4), red);
[/asy]